What is Q235 Steel – Q235 Properties, Characteristics, Applications & Comparison

Understanding more about the material characteristics will help you better use it. 

Q235 is a carbon structural steel. Carbon steel is an alloy mainly composed of iron and carbon, but the carbon content is less than 2%. Generally, it also contains a small amount of silicon, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, and other elements. Carbon steel with sulfur and phosphorus content greater than 0.35% but less than 0.5% by mass is called ordinary carbon steel. High-quality carbon steel and high-quality steel have lower sulfur content, and the latter has less than 0.3% sulfur and phosphorus content.

Q235 is medium and low-strength steel. Its yield strength is 235Mpa, and its strength in steel materials is relatively low. Steels with higher strength, such as Q345, medium strength steel, while those with higher strength, such as Q420D, high strength steel. There are also special ultra-high-strength steels, such as GC-4 steel, whose tensile strength reaches 1765-1961Mpa.

Q235 is a type of steel with good plasticity and toughness. Good toughness of steel is a very important advantage, because in engineering, if the toughness is low, then brittle fracture may occur, and brittle fracture occurs very quickly, causing great damage.

Q235 is easy to weld. Because the general welding process is carried out at room temperature, the cooling rate of weld metal droplets is very fast. In addition, the fusion of raw materials and welding materials leads to a very intense solidification process. We can regard the weld as a defective solidification. The advantage of Q235 steel is that it contains fewer harmful elements, such as S and P, and it is not easy to produce segregation that can seriously affect the weld quality. At the same time, its carbon content is not high, and it is not easy to cause hot cracks in the weld due to the enrichment of carbon in the weld.

Q235 is easy to corrode and rust, but not in reinforced concrete. Q235 steel contains carbon, phosphorus, manganese, silicon, and other components and impurities, and forms ferrite, pearlite, austenite, and other different solid solution forms at the same time. When there are conductive substances such as water film on the steel surface, different components in the steel show different potentials, which is easy to lead to an electrochemical reaction.